Stone Cold Steve Austin - Credit www.wwf.com - Wrestling - http://maxpages.com/2001wrestling/Steve

Stone Cold Steve Austin is clearly fired up about returning to the World Wrestling Federation. Austin made a surprise appearance Thursday night at WWF New York to the delight of hundreds of fans. They were literally jumping up and down at the mere sight of him – which reveals that Austin has gotten himself into great shape since we last saw him April at Backlash. Austin sat down for a few moments with WWF.com just after he and Jim Ross, who was scheduled to be at WWF New York on Thursday along with Debra, had entertained the fans with a special interview. The Rattlesnake was in great spirits after the phenomenal response he received from the fans in attendance at the entertainment complex. And he had admittedly downed a few “Steveweisers,” which made him all the more entertaining – he was both very candid and very funny.

WWF.com: What do you think of WWF New York? I know you've been here before.
Stone Cold: Yeah, I came here one time a couple of months ago when I was up in New York doing a little business. I did the tour and basically hung out and drank a hell of a lot of beer. They took real good care of us. But eating the food tonight, hanging out with J.R. and his wife, and Debra, I think it's a blast. This is a hell of a set up they have here.

WWF.com: When you first had the surgery, there was a chance that you would never be able to return to in-ring competition. Can you say today that you’re definitely coming back?

Stone Cold: As far as I'm concerned I'm gonna return. I've got another two months to wait according to my last doctors visit, which as we speak right now was probably about four days ago. About another two months of waiting is gonna be pretty cool for him. That'll give my surgery about nine months to get everything pretty well patched up. There shouldn't be any problems whatsoever. You gotta knock on wood there, but everything should be better off when I come back than it was when I left, so I look to come back with a lot of confidence. I don't know when I'm gonna pop up or how I'm gonna pop up or why I'm gonna pop up. We've still gotta decide that and make sure everything's cool when I come back. There have been a lot of meetings and we're taking this very seriously, as we should -- making sure that everything's right.

WWF.com: Are you going to be at SummerSlam?
Stone Cold: Right now I don't think I'm gonna be there, according to what I'm able to do physically. A couple of months ago (at Backlash) when I came in the ring and started swinging a chair, that was a little premature. When I come back, I've gotta be at 100 percent. There were a few injuries before I went out, and I wasn't performing at 100 percent and no one knew that. It reflected on Stone Cold Steve Austin. I want to be healthy; I want to be ready. When I come back, I will be at 100 percent, so SummerSlam is probably out. com: Have those other injuries you referred to had a chance to heal?
Stone Cold: Yeah, man. Hell, I've been out for nine or 10 months, whatever it's been. It's a long time to be out of what we do. In the recent past, I've been able to start watching the show again. Before it was kind of too hard. But I've had a lot of rest. And I've sat around and I had a lot of options that I could have done other than come back to wrestling. But when it all boiled down to it, I love going out on WWF TV. I love being Stone Cold Steve Austin and raising hell and doing what I do. So, this is my decision to come back and I want to make the most of it.

WWF.com: So you have been watching the show lately. Are there any newcomers that have impressed you?
Stone Cold: There sure have. Of course, Kurt Angle came in before I left. I'm real impressed with him. He's done a great job. Of course, he was an Olympic gold medalist. But what he's been able to do is grab a hold of our business and run with that and understand the concepts of it at a very early period in his career. Chris Benoit, I've always been a very strong believer that he's one of the best guys in the ring in the world. I've been on the tour of Japan with him several years ago when I tore my triceps. Eddie Guerrero also is a top-notch hand, going along with Dean Malenko also. (Perry) Saturn came in with that group -- don't know a whole lot about him -- but those guys have really done well.Rock's star continues to shine very brightly, but I consider Triple H probably right now to be one of the best all-around hands in the business. So a lot of people have stepped up and knocked home runs. And some people have been disappointments, such as the Big Show. He kind of hasn't made the grade, as he should have. So he doesn't really understand yet; maybe he's a little bit immature. This is the World Wrestling Federation, it takes a real sumbitch to step up there and knock a home run. Maybe he will at a later date.
WWF.com: What do the words "Commissioner Mick Foley" mean to you?
Stone Cold: Ah (chuckles). I gotta laugh every time I see him. I think -- hell, I'm sitting here on a couch in the bottom of the WWF cafe, so I'm speaking candidly -- I think Mick Foley is one of the coolest guys I know. We used to travel together in our formative years back in WCW. Anytime I see him I know there's gonna be some sarcasm, there's gonna be a lot of bull**** going on. I think he's probably the best commissioner I've ever seen, and of course one of the best guys I've ever been in the ring with. So I take my hat off to him.

WWF.com: What do you think of his new haircut?
Stone Cold: I don't like it (laughs). I'm used to Mick Foley with the long hair and the hair pulled out and the bald spots and whatever. But whatever he does with his hair is no concern to me. He probably doesn't like my haircut either.

WWF.com: You're a former football player.What do you think of the XFL?
Stone Cold: I'm looking forward to seeing how it's brought across on the TV. I'm hearing smashmouth. I'm hearing what football is supposed to be, what it used to be. They're going to put cameras and mics in the huddles and on the players, and I think it's gonna be what football is supposed to be. I'm a big fan of the NFL, but it's turned into a real slick-type product. This is going back to the way it's supposed to be, and I'm looking forward to seeing the kind of athletes and the coaching and everything that goes with it. I think it's gonna be a hell of a deal. That's what I think about it.
WWF.com: There have been some rumors about a possible "Nash Bridges" spinoff. Can you shed some light on that?

Stone Cold: There were a couple of projects that I could have done based around me -- me being the lead in the series. There were very firm offers on the table. But where I'm at in my life and the conversations I've had with the office, right now I've gotta devote all my time, energy and focus on coming back to the World Wrestling Federation and being right physically, being right mentally, being able to perform in the ring and everything that goes with it. So I'm not going to distract myself with any outside interests. That will come at a later date. I got forced out of wrestling when I didn't want to be forced out, and I'm coming back to finish the way I wanted to finish.Things like that can happen later, if they happen; I really don't care. But right now I want to devote all my time to the World Wrestling Federation.

WWF.com: Can you give us an update on wedding plans with Debra and you?
Stone Cold: Yeah, hell, when are you going to print this? We're probably going to get married in about two or three weeks. We're going to fly to Las Vegas. We were going to do a big wedding in Texas, and I figured, well, hell ... it's no secret I've been married a couple of times or whatever. And I think she got a divorce too (laughs). So it ain't the first time around the block for either one of us. And I ain't got time with the focus we're trying to put -- Debra is trying to make a comeback too. She's got her mind and her focus on what she needs to do just like I do. It's two people in the same company going in different paths. As far as the marriage goes, I think we're gonna hit Las Vegas and do something like that. I'm sure it'll be as romantic, or whatever, as we make it. But I'm doing it official, I'm doing it the easy way, I'm doing it the fun way and I'm doing it the way Stone Cold Steve Austin and Debra decided to do it. So that's what we're gonna do in just a couple of weeks -- tie the old square knot and make it a done deal.

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Page Updated Fri Sep 8, 2000 11:34pm EDT